Portland Art Museum’s film and media center, PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow held their annual Cinema Unbound Awards on June 21st 2024 honoring a number of acclaimed artists, filmmakers, and award-winning chefs.
The fifth edition of the event awarded Mickalene Thomas, an award-winning multidisciplinary artist known for her elaborate portraits of Black women; Sterlin Harjo, best known for his work as the co-creator and showrunner of Reservation Dogs; Irene Taylor, an Oscar-nominated, award-winning filmmaker who recently debuted I AM: Celine Dion; and James Beard Award-nominated chef/entrepreneurs Peter Cho and Sun Young Park of award-winning restaurant Han Oak. Comedian, actor, writer, and philanthropist Ron Funches hosted the festivities.
Other stars of the entertainment galaxy were in attendance, including host Ron Funches (Loot, Inside Out 2), and presenters Kimberly Drew and Wes Studi. Celine Dion and Ethan Hawke joined via video to present Irene Taylor and Sterlin Harjo respectively.
Throughout an evening that channeled a “bizarre bazaar” theme, the Portland creative spirit shone. Guests vamped with a tower of teddy bears for the red carpet photos, encountered mesmerizing eyes at every turn, and raised their paddles for the benefit of PAM CUT. Dinner was a feast for the senses and for the soul, with a culinary takeover by CUA honorees Peter Cho and Sun Young Park from their award-winning restaurant Han Oak.
Highlights
Honorees Peter Cho and Sun Young Park were introduced by visionary creative director John Jay, who is a champion of artists in Portland as well as in Asia. Jay emphasized the importance of PAM CUT’s Cinema Unbound Awards as standing up against the “danger called algorithms of mediocrity.” He went on to say, “Peter and Sun are the ultimate storytellers. Each ingredient, each dish, each menu, each design, each environment, each meal is a three-dimensional film that touches all of our senses.”
Sun Young Park echoed the sentiment saying, “And like John said, it really is like a cinema… It’s like a movie every single night. And you prepare every single day, and you have your staff and your team and your actors and your servers who sell your food and every single night is different from another…. It takes people off of their screens and pulls you off of the algorithm, and it puts you at a table amongst other people from varied lives and backgrounds and ages, and it gathers people physically to our seat, and to enjoy Peter’s menu.”
Kimberly Drew expressed her adoration for the Portland Art Museum and PAM CUT before describing honoree Mickalene Thomas as a “purveyor of beauty, a woman with a distinctive eye for finding beauty in a world that has been made so ugly and hardened by systems of oppression and violence. In a world that deems black women and girls as either magic or disposable, Mickey’s work renders us whole, messy, sexy, centered, and well-loved.”
Mickalene Thomas began her speech by acknowledging her deep personal connection to the Portland Art Museum and thanked Director Brian Ferriso for being the first museum to support her film and video through acquisition. After sharing a pivotal moment she had at the Museum in 1994 with Portland-born artist Carrie Mae Weems’ work, she said, “To me, Cinema Unbound represents both unfettered and freedom to create, challenge and tell stories that are relevant, disruptive, political, desirable, diverse, and impactful…. But receiving this award acknowledges my own journey and my path—from the moment that I stepped into the Portland Art Museum in 1994.”
Presenting honoree Irene Taylor via video, Celine Dion said, “Having watched her beautiful and thoughtful films, I knew I could trust Irene to respectfully and artistically portray what I was going through with the brilliant crew that she put together…Through the process, Irene became my friend. She is so very deserving of this award that honors artists who create without limits. Her only goal is to better the world.”
Taylor was surprised by the video introduction and went on to say, “You know, we’ve already had a theme tonight of just how this museum is really honoring people who want to push the boundaries of maybe their own comfort level. And in the case of my films, that has just been to really push people to share with me and open up with me about their experiences, but also just forget I’m there…. And if if we can just be ourselves and share that with the world, I think, we can develop and cultivate compassion for one another.”
Ethan Hawke also joined the event via video to introduce honoree Sterlin Harjo, saying, “His freedom of spirit, his authenticity of self, his creative expression, his energy, and his leadership are goddamn remarkable. He was born different, and he’s letting that difference, like, explode out…. He’s getting stories out, giving voice to the voiceless, expressing himself with no limits. He takes no shit and he does it with a smile and love and compassion for others.”
In accepting his award, honoree Sterlin Harjo, who lived in Portland as a young man, closed by saying, “Portland was a magical place to me that always reminded me of what home was, and that’s why I went back. I’m so grateful for this award. There are many years where people didn’t understand what I was doing, so to be congratulated for my work, in a city that I love, means everything to me.”